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Gentilly man accused of stabbing brother 93 times before leaving body in burning home

Ian broyard.jpg

Ian Broyard, 22, has been booked with second-degree murder in connection with last November's slaying of his older brother, Michael, whom police say was stabbed 93 times before being left inside a burning house in Gentilly. (Photo from Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office)

A 22-year-old Gentilly man with a history of mental illness has been arrested in connection with the brutal murder of his older brother, who New Orleans police say was stabbed 93 times in the neck and torso before being left inside a burning house last November.

Ian Broyard was booked with second-degree murder charges in the death of sibling Michael Broyard, 23, whose remains were found by firefighters working to put out a morning blaze at the family's home in the 3300 block of Belfort Street on Nov. 6.

Court documents show that Ian Broyard was arrested Feb. 26, after NOPD Homicide Detective Tanisha Sykes received DNA results linking him to the crime. An arrest warrant application said the younger brother's DNA and fingerprints matched those found on book covers and duct tape that were used to fashion a crude vest of body armor. That vest was found blood-soaked and discarded in a garbage can less than a half-mile from the burning house.

The report also said detectives learned Ian Broyard, a former football player at Brother Martin High School, had been diagnosed as bipolar and schizophrenic in June 2013, and would sometimes act violently toward others.

The fire call was received shortly before 8:30 a.m., about one hour after the mother of the two men told police she left the house with Ian in a bathroom and Michael sleeping in a bedroom. Firefighters burst in to find Michael's body on the floor of a front room. No one else was in the house.

As police interviewed family members outside the home later that morning, the warrant says Ian Broyard returned to the scene with cuts on his forearms and holding his stomach as if in pain. He was taken to police headquarters, where he was read his rights before he requested an attorney, the report says.

Back at the crime scene, the warrant said, police found a witness who saw a man matching Ian Broyard's description riding a red and white bicycle, who stopped to throw something into a trash can behind a house in the 3200 block of Derby Place, about three-tenths of a mile from the Broyards' home. The stepfather of the brothers told detectives he owned a red and white bicycle that was missing from the home.

Inside that garbage can, detectives said they found a blood-stained vest made from book covers and gray duct tape. Inside the Broyards' home, detectives said they collected several knives and blood samples, a wad of duct tape, and a piece of a book cover similar to those found in the garbage can.

Much of that evidence was sent to the Louisiana State Police crime lab for DNA analysis. Nearly four months later, the results came back showing matches for Michael Broyard's blood on the vest, and for Ian Broyard's DNA on unstained areas of the book covers and duct tape, the report said.

The warrant also said that seven latent fingerprints were recovered from the duct tape used to fashion the book-cover vest, and they also matched Ian Broyard.

Police have not offered a motive for the crime, but said in the warrant application that the brothers "had several physical altercations, both documented and undocumented."

Attempts to contact surviving family members and Ian Broyard's attorney, Kevin Boshea, were not immediately successful. The house on Belfort Street is still undergoing renovations.

Ian Broyard is being held on a $400,000 bond while awaiting his preliminary hearing scheduled for March 28. If convicted of second-degree murder, Broyard would face life imprisonment at hard labor, without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence.